Google Maps Pedometer

gmapPedometer

"... What is this?
This is a little hack that uses Google's superb mapping application to help record distances traveled during a running or walking workout.

Why?
As a runner training for a marathon for the first time, I found myself wishing I had an easy way to know the exact distance a certain course is, without having to drag a GPS or pedometer around on my runs. Looking at Google Maps, and knowing there was a vibrant community of geeks hacking it, I knew there had to be a way. So here it is.

Note that there's a reason this is called a pedometer. Considering that you have to choose all the points in your route individually yourself, it's probably not suitable for driving trips and the like. But I've found it suits my purposes pretty well for getting running distances. ..."

This is a cool Google Map hack/overlay. It lets you record/create a route, calculate the distance of that route and then print/permalink/tinyurl it.

For example, here's my "I need to walk around the building to think" route. And my "Must not... Must not kill... Jail is bad... Everyone has a place, even if it's only to exhale carbon dioxide for the plants..." route. ;)

(via Rod at the forum - Don't have a GPS Pedometer? Have a look at this on-line Hybrid.